I have a '63 Ca95 with a seized engine. I've been letting it soak for about two years now (other stuff has gotten in the way of me finishing (starting?) this project) and it's stuck. I can't get it to move, and at this point even if I did get it to move, I don't think I'd trust it. All of the engines I see for sale are the later models, usually '65 vintage. I know there are some differences, but will those differences keep me from dropping in the later engine?

I'd rather rebuild the engine that's in there, but budget wise I can't justify it when I can buy a whole new engine for $200ish dollars. Hopefully. Last one I saw on Craigslist had the ad disappear before I could call.

On a related note, anyone got an engine for sale in the New Jersey/New York area?

First off, all CA95 engines of all years will fit any year frame. Things like exhaust, carburetors, wiring etc will interchange without problems.

You stated that yours is a 1963. There were 2 versions of the 1963. Early and late versions. Most of the differences are minimal however, if you have an early '63, the clutch cable for that version will not fit the late 1963 on up to 1966. In short they ran production from 1959 to 1963 1/2 (early) then 1963 1/2 to 1966 (late)

There are 2 noticeable differences between the engines for identification.

1) The early model has a tachometer on the cylinder head on the kickstart side of the engine. The later models do not.

2) On the shifter side, there is a cover that covers the counter shaft that the clutch cable goes into. This cover has a straight edge that mates against the stator cover. On the early 1963, this area is solid metal for the whole length.
On the late 1963 and newer, there is a rectangle shape cut out of it for a rubber cover. It's real close to the external clutch adjuster on the stator cover.

Google the ca95 history and you will see the differences, but at most, you may have to change that clutch cable.

Just pop the cam gear/ chain off and pull the cylinder head off. See what it looks like. I rebuilt old Honda's with no money as a kid and was successful. Find an old hone tool and a drill to clean up the cylinder and put new rings in it. Gaskets are cheap and I even made my own from scratch when I was an impatient teenager. Snug it all back together and see what happens!

You can post some pics of things as you take them apart for us to see and give you some advice. These things are super easy to work on. Just get it running first and worry about making it pretty once it's rolling. You don't want to strip and paint up an engine just to find out that the cylinder has been bored out to the max or the bearings inside are shot.

It's super easy for people that understand engines. I recommend buying the Honda Service manual for these bikes. They aren't like modern manuals... they have so much more information than you might think. There is one on Ebay for $50 right now. I suggest you get it. You would be wise to understand what you are taking apart before you take the chance of breaking anything. It's good reading.

If you go back through all the info here on this forum you shouldn't have a problem finding pictures of what to do. Go back to the very fist post in this CA95 95 thread and start going through all the info.